You are here

Col. Chris Hadfield - An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth

Saturday, November 9, 2013 - 4:00pm

In conversation with Pam Mandel

One of the most seasoned and accomplished astronauts in history, Colonel Chris Hadfield captivated the world earlier this year when he released a series of breathtaking photographs and educational videos about life in space. His music video, a zero-gravity version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” received over 10 million views in its first three days online and has received more than 16 million views to date. He’s logged nearly 4,000 hours in space, knows how to perform basic surgery in zero gravity, and has broken into a space station with a Swiss Army Knife. Now, in An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything ($28.00), Hadfield shows how the lessons he’s learned in space can improve our everyday lives—at work and at home.

Colonel Chris Hadfield is one of the most seasoned and accomplished astronauts in the world. In May, Hadfield returned to Earth after serving as Commander of the International Space Station, where he and his crew lived for six months (it was his third trip). The top graduate of the U.S. Air Force test pilot school in 1988 and U.S. Navy test pilot of the year in 1991, Hadfield was selected to be an astronaut in 1992. He served as Director of NASA Operations in Star City, Russia from 2001-2003, Chief of Robotics at the Johnson Space Center in Houston from 2003-2006 and Chief of International Space Station Operations there from 2006-2008. The former President of the Association of Space Explorers (2007-2011), Hadfield is also a fully qualified flight engineer cosmonaut, is fluent in Russian, and is designated a "specialist" on all Space Station systems, meaning that he has earned the highest qualification level possible for every imaginable task onboard.

Pam Mandel wrote a series of letters to Col. Chris Hadfield that were published on SKYE on AOL. Pam is a freelance writer and photographer. She's written travel stories for Conde Nast Traveler online, Afar, World Hum, Gadling, Perceptive Travel, and a handful of food, travel, and in-flight magazines. She's worked on two guidebooks -- British Columbia and Hawaii -- for Thomas Cook.

Colonel Chris Hadfield has spent decades training as an astronaut and has logged nearly 4000 hours in space. During this time he has broken into a Space Station with a Swiss army knife, disposed of a live snake while piloting a plane, and been temporarily blinded while clinging to the exterior of an orbiting spacecraft. The secret to Col.